Hyderabad: A Delhi-based vendor duped the College of Aerospace Warfare in Secunderabad of Rs 8.8 lakh, which was given to him as an advance payment for clearing vegetation on the academy premises.
An Air Force officer posted at the college filed a complaint with the cybercrime police in this regard. Based on the complaint, a case was registered against unknown persons. On October 15, a wing commander filed the complaint stating that Pinakine Secure Security Solutions was awarded a Rs 54.8 lakh contract for vegetation clearance through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) on June 5.
“The Air Force Public Fund made two advance payments of Rs 4,41,720 each, on August 19 and Sept 17 to the company’s bank account in New Delhi towards the wages of labourers for July and August,” the complainant told police.
The complainant also alleged that the vendor did not honour the contract, provided a fake address, and stopped responding to calls. “The firm’s listed address in Hari Nagar, New Delhi, could not be located, and official mail was returned by the postal department marked, no such company found,” the complainant alleged.
The proprietor, named in records as Sakshi Pandey, could not be contacted by the college authorities, and the other staff linked to the firm denied any association, claiming that the tender had been uploaded by another company on behalf of Pinakine Secure Security Solutions.
As the vendor did not provide acknowledgement for receipt of advance payment despite repeated reminders and also stopped communicating, the College terminated the GeM contract and initiated steps to freeze the firm’s bank account through a complaint on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal in October.
In the police complaint on October 15, the complainant asked cybercrime police to verify the firm’s identity and registration details and recover the public funds.
Based on the complaint, a case of cheating was registered under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against the offenders.
